Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has suspended the director and several staff of the city’s Human Services Department. The department is believed to have misspent at least $200,000 intended for services to the poor.

Mayor Bing says an investigation is under way. He says it’s not clear yet how big the problem is, "but it is important enough to this administration, to this city and our indigent population that we act immediately to make sure that we right the wrongs."

Bing is recommending that the staff members who’ve been suspended be fired, pending the results of the investigation. He says he’s put other measures in place to ensure grant funds are properly spent. They include the requirement that all grant expenditures be authorized by the city’s finance department.